Now that we have our fresh curry powder made, it's
time to get to work making a delicious dish that incorporates it. To that
purpose, I have selected a dish perfected by America's Test Kitchen: a
vegetable curry that integrates a variety of textures and earthy flavors, to
make a hearty and satisfying weeknight meal.
Note: In order
to make this dish in the most convenient manner, you’re going to need a garlic
press and a food processor. There
are certainly workarounds for both implements, but the process is made much
easier by not having to put knife to cutting board, in either instance. With that being said, if you don’t have
a processor, just strain the tomatoes (retaining the juice), and chop them
coarsely. As for the garlic—smash
it well, and mince it finely; you’ll hardly know the difference.
The Ingredients:
2 TBSP. Curry
Powder
1½ TSP. Garam
Masala (You can buy this
pre-packaged, but if you’re
feeling up to the task, you can find a recipe
for homemade
Garam Masala
4 TBSP. Vegetable
Oil
3 Cloves Pressed
or Minced Garlic (Though I always say the more garlic
the better! Why not make it for 4 or 5?)
1 TBSP. Minced
or Grated Fresh Ginger
1 Serrano
Chile (For a spicier dish, save the ribs and seeds. For
a milder dish, discard
the ribs and seeds)
1 TBSP. Tomato
Paste (There are re-sealable tubes available at just
about any grocery store,
which provide a greater bang-for-
your-buck than a non-re-sealable can)
1 Can Diced
Tomatoes (14.5 OZ.--I usually go for a fire roasted
variety for additional
flavor)
2 C. Minced
Onion (Roughly 2 medium-sized)
12 OZ. Red
Potatoes, Cut into ½ Inch Pieces
1¼ LBS. Cauliflower,
Cut into 1-Inch Florets
1¼ C. Water
(I use slightly less—around 1 C.—to thicken the curry to
my liking)
1 Can Chick
Peas (15 OZ.), Drained and Rinsed
1½ C. Frozen
Peas
¼ C. Coconut
Milk (Or heavy cream, if that’s your inclination)
I always like to begin cooking by prepping all my
ingredients. This is a French
cooking philosophy called Mis en Place,
or Everything in place. The ethos being, if you have everything
ready to go, you avoid having to stop and restart the cooking process. Mis
en Place helps to facilitate a flow to your cooking, that you otherwise
wouldn’t have if you had to stop and chop, or measure out, every single
ingredient that you need, as you need it.
Imagine, how much time you lose--how much food you over cook—just
because you need to take your attention away from actually cooking, in order to
prepare what you could have done ahead of time. But—if you have years of experience prepping on the go, and
the attendant knife skills—feel free to prep and cook at the same time, Jedi
Master.
In order to complete prep, you’re going to need to process
those tomatoes, which I mentioned in the note above. If you have a food processor, and used it, your tomatoes
should look something like this:
If you don’t have a food processor, try to make your
tomatoes resemble something approximating this. To be honest, texture is a personal preference…to that
end: if you want a chunkier tomato
consistency, forgo the processing altogether.
Next up is your garlic mixture. Combine 1 TBSP. of the vegetable oil with the garlic,
ginger, Serrano chile, and tomato paste.
Doesn’t that look, and smell, tantalizing?
Finally, toast your curry powder and Garam Masala in a
shallow pan over medium-high heat, for about a minute, or until your kitchen is
overtaken by the intoxicating aromas.
Take the pan off the heat and set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
Once the prep is finished, have a sip of beer, or wine, or
gin and tonic (it’s important to relax while you’re cooking—trust me, it makes
a difference in the end result), and then get cooking. You want to saute the onions and
potatoes with the remaining oil, until the onions are beginning to caramelize
and the potatoes are beginning to get golden brown around the edges. I found that this took longer than the
10 minutes the recipe recommends, so adjust your cooking times according to
your stovetop (mine is notoriously under flamed).
Once your onions and taters have achieved their heavenly
glow, go ahead and clear out a little space in the center of your Dutch oven
(or whatever large pot you might be using), in which you will place our
previously prepared garlic mixture.
Now, prepare your nose for excess stimulation (of the best variety), as
you mash that mixture into the pot until it’s overpoweringly fragrant—only 15-20
seconds should do it—and then stir the mixture into the surrounding
vegetables.
Are you ready for even more
fragrance overload? That’s
rhetorical, because you better be.
Once you’ve stirred in the garlic mixture, add the toasted spices to the
mélange and keep stirring for another minute. If you’re anything like me, at this point, the scent alone
has you salivating. Now add the
cauliflower and make sure you get as much of it coated in the spicy-goodness as
you can. Let the mixture cook
through another two minutes or so.
Now add the chickpeas, coating them in the spice mixture,
followed by the tomatoes, water, and a TSP. of salt. Bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it begins to bubble, reduce the
heat to medium (a gentle simmer), and throw the cover on. Let the flavors meld and congregate for
a good 10-15 minutes, stirring everything occasionally. I let mine go for slightly longer than
15 minutes, to make the sauce just a little bit thicker and more robust. Of course, as always, cook to your liking and preferences. Want the
sauce thinner? Stick closer to the
10-minute recommendation; just make sure that the vegetables, especially the
cauliflower and potatoes, are tender enough when all is said and done.
Once everything is cooked nearly as you like it, add the
coconut milk and the frozen peas, stir everything up again, and let it cook
through another two minutes or so.
From here, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve this stomach-stuffing,
palate-pleasing curry dish over a bed of Jasmine rice (or any white rice will
do).
This recipe definitely is more than enough for two people, so
invite a few people over and share a fantastic meal with friends, or pack it
with any leftover rice for a rich lunch that anyone with a capable nose will
instantly envy.
P.S. I apologize for the formatting. It looked completely normal as I typed it up, but something got lost in translation....
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